Fruit and vegetable fans may be forced to change their diet after one of the biggest companies in the industry was disrupted by ransomware (opens in a new tab) attack.
Dole Food Company issued a press release saying it had been the victim of a ransomware attack that had a “limited” impact on its business.
The company said it was currently investigating the “scope of the incident”, notifying law enforcement, and a “leading third-party cybersecurity expert” was brought in to fix the problem and secure the company’s systems.
Suspending operations
While Dole’s initial assessment of the incident is that it was “limited”, other sources say the attack was disruptive enough to force the company to temporarily suspend some operations.
Therefore, Beeping Computer found a note from a Texas grocery store leaked on Facebook that said Dole had to close its North American manufacturing facilities and suspend deliveries.
“Dole Food Company is under a cyberattack and [we] then shut down our systems across North America,” the memo said. “Our plants are closed for the day and all deliveries are on hold,” the media reported.
Other details about the ransomware attack are currently unknown. We don’t know who the threat actor is, which ransomware variant was deployed, or what malware was used to compromise the company’s endpoints. We also don’t know exactly when the attack happened. However, the media discovered that Dole’s pre-packaged salads had been missing for over a week. It’s hard to say if the two incidents are related.
According to the memo, Dole wants to implement a “manual backup program,” which likely means it will switch to manual operations. This, while it may keep business moving, will certainly mean a slower pace for both production and distribution.
By: Beeping Computer (opens in a new tab)